The Hawaii State Center for Nursing, established by the state in 2003 to address nursing issues in the workforce, recently published results of a two-year project aimed at addressing the state’s nursing shortage in long term care.

By 2020, one out of every four people in Hawaii will be 60 years old and one out of 40 people will be 85 years old. This will increase the demand for registered nurses in Hawaii by 28 percent, but the supply of registered nurses is only expected to grow by 8.9 percent.

The Hawaii Partners in Nursing project is an ongoing collaboration between The Hawaii State Center for Nursing and several other local groups working to address this shortage. The project’s first phase ran from 2006 to 2009, and the second phase ran from 2011 to 2013. The overarching goal is to form key partnerships between nursing students and local employers, with the idea that establishing such partnerships will lead to more initiatives that improve recruitment and retention of nurses into geriatric and long term care specialties.

For the second phase of the project, the Hawaii State Center for Nursing paired up with three long-term care groups — The Big Island's Hale Hoola Hamakua and Hale Anuenue Restorative Care as well as Garden Isle Healthcare located in Lihue — and the University of Hawaii School of Nursing, Hawaii Community College and Kauai Community College.

Together, the groups launched three pilot projects — student clinical placement in long term care facilities, faculty education for long term care staff and a leadership program for long term care staff.

“The outcomes of the project are palpable,” said Sandra LeVasseur, associate director of research at the Hawaii State Center for Nursing and author of the report, in a statement. “The evident workplace strengths include improved employee morale, a change in self-awareness, a feeling of pride in the professional work performed in long term care, and improved interactions with residents.”

But challenges remain as Hawaii’s population continues to age. LeVasseur noted that there are not enough opportunities in Hawaii for nursing students to do clinical placements at long-term care facilities that would give hands-on experience. But the hope is that this project will encourage spin-off efforts and continued collaboration between nursing students and long term care employers.

“The follow-up data indicates the nursing staff in long-term care may have gained the most benefit from the project. It is envisioned that the leadership preceptor training program will continue to occur in the long-term care facilities with the staff,” she said.